Yingli Green (YGE) Reports In-Line Q4 Loss, Revenues Up Y/Y

Yingli Green Energy Holding Company Ltd. (NYSE:YGE) , also known as Yingli Solar, incurred an adjusted net loss of $2.40 per American Depositary Share (ADS) in fourth-quarter 2017, which came in line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate. The company had incurred a loss of $4.20 per ADS in the year-ago quarter.

Revenues

Total revenues came in at $349.4 million, up 18.8% year over year. The reported figure also surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $315 million by 10.9%.

Highlights of the Release

Total photovoltaic (PV) module shipments were 837.9 megawatts (MW) in fourth-quarter 2017 compared with 635.1 MW a year ago.

In the quarter under review, gross margin expanded 20 basis points (bps) year over year to 7.2%. Operating expenses declined 69% year over year to $85.3 million.

Operating loss was $60.2 million compared with $251.1 million in the year-ago quarter.

Interest expenses totaled $27.8 million compared with $24.3 million in fourth-quarter 2016.

Financial Highlights

The company had cash & cash equivalents of $58.1 million as of Dec 31, 2017 compared with $125.1 million as of Dec 31, 2016.

Long-term debt, excluding current portion, was $141.5 million as of Dec 31, 2017, down from $363.5 million as of Dec 31, 2016.

Guidance

For the first quarter of 2018, Yingli Green expects PV module shipments in the range of 400-420 MW.

Peer Releases

ReneSola Ltd. (NYSE:SOL) reported earnings of 4 cents per American Depositary Share (ADS) in the fourth quarter of 2017, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate by a penny. The reported figure reflects substantial improvement when compared to a loss of $1.26 in the year-ago quarter.

JinkoSolar Holding (NYSE:JKS) reported fourth-quarter 2017 earnings per American Depositary Share (ADS) of 12 cents, which missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 23 cents by 47.8%.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) incurred fourth-quarter 2017 adjusted loss of 25 cents per share, which was narrower than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of 32 cents by 21.9%.

Zacks Rank

Yingli Green carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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